What would winter be if we couldn't talk about the weather? Over a week ago it felt like spring had come, plus 10 degrees, rain and I could see not only my lawn but all my garden beds exposed. It was tempting to pick up a shovel and start digging.
Before I could even think about doing such a thing we took a trip to Halifax. The Atlantic Craft Trade Show was held last weekend and Jody's work once again made an appearance. I was all too glad to tag along to this event. I really enjoy small doses of city life and Halifax is a joy to visit (particularly when it means meeting up with fellow bloggers. Brenda thank you for playing host and spending a glorious afternoon together).
Although we had diligently checked the weather prior to taking this trip we were completely caught off guard by the sudden change that took place upon our arrival. Saturday was cold and clear but Sunday looked like this. Welcome to winter in the Canadian maritimes.
 |
| Halifax Citadel through the snow |
Getting home suddenly looked a lot more difficult. So an executive decision was made. Hotel stays were extended and we took ourselves shopping. Jody's latest obsession is turn tables and Halifax happens to have an exceptional record shop that kept us busy.
 |
| An easy walk from the hotel despite the snow, we spent a fair amount of time at Taz Records |
Luckily I appreciate a good record as well and some fine purchases were made. Some that we are enjoying as I speak.
You see, the weather system did eventually subside, and we made it home. Only to find another storm system has blown in. Sustained winds of 50km with gusts of 80km, blowing around 30cm of snow. There's little to do today other than listen to some good records and keep warm.
 |
| Blowing snow is funny. The entire deck was clear this morning EXCEPT for the pile right at the door |
Some of us are curled up at the computer, dreaming about plants (Copper Beech is available at Honey Tree Nursery!) and some of us are putting golf balls down the hallway (just no chipping please). I don't generally mind the winters here but being stuck inside during a blizzard can certainly make one long for spring.
Rather than post more photos of the white stuff (can't see much outside anymore anyway) I thought I would leave you with this sight.
Each winter crows on PEI come together in the evening to roost in Victoria Park. I happened to be downtown Charlottetown on business this week and caught the first groups arriving in the park. A stunning sight to behold.
32 comments:
You are most welcome! It was a great afternoon. Thank you!
The snow is really something hehe...so so much.
Glad you enjoyed Taz and found some great records. I cherish mine. In fact, today is the perfect day to listen some oldies but goodies.
Keep warm
Ahh, there's the full shot of the rustic black & white double bench that I wanted to see. Love it! (It doesn't need so much snow next to it though).
Glad you had a good time in Halifax and are finding ways to make it through the winter.
I have been keeping track of your storm and talking to my friends in Maine and my son in Boston. What a storm!!! All the post offices in Maine and New Hampshire closed for the first time in 25 years. And in Boston, jail time for driving except emergency vehicles. Hope you are fine through the end of it.
Sounds like you had a good time in Halifax. Just love the place and soooo many restaurants and pubs to visit. Hope you did well at the trade show. Your husbands work is beautiful!! I was there once a long time ago because hubby was on company business and really loved the show. I actually bought a few beautiful wood turned items for gifts but loved them so much that I kept them and not one day goes by that I regret that decision
Cowboy junkies my most favorite band.When we make home made pizza they are our background music especially the Caution Horse album.
Have a great stormed in weekend.
I actually like your first photo as much as your last. I am one of the northerners nuts for winter. We had the blizzard and it left two and a half feet of fluffy snow, and a lot of hungry backyard birds, so I braved the roads and Jeeped my way to get them seed. I was tired of hearing the pathetic chirping, and seeing a small Titmouse burying in the snow until it could not be seen. Poor thing kept digging down and down. That one sight sent me to the store. I too am sitting at the computer after all that shoveling. Better to dream than work!
Can you believe I've driven by Halifax twice but have never seen the city? This summer! I love that album by the Cowboy Junkies - there's a song about me! And now I'm humming it and it'll be stuck in my head all evening! Kim at Top of the Meadow was writing recently about the way some of her lawn can be totally devoid of snow while there can be a six foot drift up against the door - I wonder if putting up a snow fence would make a difference?
How nice to get away - anywhere! I've always wanted to see the East Coast. Jealous!
Brenda, we made pasta with a side salad tonight and tried a little Grapefruit balsamic on it. Fantastic. So glad you dragged me into that shop. A little Tom Waits on the stereo and it's not been such a bad storm day after all.
Glad you noticed that! I had you in mind when I took the shot, made sure it was wide enough to capture the bench. It's a good spot to watch the sunset in summer if we can steal it away from the herd of cats that usually occupies it.
This is definitely a storm to remember. We've been housebound all day and looks like we will be all day tomorrow as well. We had hoped to get out in snowshoes but the visibility is so poor due to the high winds that it's not even safe for that.
If I ever find the Caution Horses album I'll be buying that next. Their music has really stood the test of time for me, I remember hearing it in my teens first and I still love it now as much as I did then. Unfortunately due to the weather the trade show was relatively quiet this year. I think many artists were quite disappointed. Lucky for Jody though he managed all his meetings with galleries and we got to enjoy some time with friends so it was a good weekend anyway.
I haven't seen a single bird today, poor things don't dare try moving in this wind. Glad you liked the photos. I wish I had a better camera with me when I saw those crows. That was actually taken with my phone and it didn't even remotely capture the sight of those hundreds of birds circling in for the evening. One of these days I need to actually bring a proper camera down there and capture the crows coming in.
One of my favourite songs Jane :) Oddly I actually can understand not having been to Halifax. We never stepped foot in Nova Scotia until long after we had moved to PEI. Just kept bypassing it on the way to the island. When you finally move though I'll bet you find some time to explore over there, it's quite captivating. Jody says it's lucky we never saw Nova Scotia first or that's where we would have ended up. I saw Kim's post too, we had the same issue. Never saw anything like these snow drifts before moving here. Snow fence or hedgerow can certainly help capture the snow. Our hedgerow is about 6 feet high right now with snow but the lawn is still bare. This wind, it just won't let the snow sit still. It needs something to stick to and lawn isn't tall enough.
Norah, it was nice for a few days. I almost didn't go as work has been so busy but when I got there I realized how much I needed the break. Lounging in a hotel room where someone else makes the bed and eating meals out was a grand luxury.
You have too much snow and I'm dying for a few flakes! Your extended weekend trip sounds like a fun time. When I lived in North Dakota, we dealt with blowing snow all the time. My neighbor across the street would have an inch of snow in his yard and I'd have a glacier in mine.
Smart of you to make the best of your involuntarily extended trip. As for the records, I can't remember the last time I saw a turntable! They must be with all the manual typewriters.
Many crows gather here during winter too. It is an amazing sight to see them gathering at dusk and dawn near their roost. They are such gabbers. They chatter all the while they travel and gather. What wicked winds you are having. I have been reading about all the blizzard business up your way. Hang on to your hat.
Marguerite girl !
I laughed when I saw the snow piled up by the door .. it does the same thing to our front entrance and the deck door .. I think it is a conspiracy!!
That was a nice treat for you to spend time in Halifax .. we loved going there for our treat times too!
I even remember when there was a GREEN Christmas in Halifax and surrounding areas(1980's)oops .. that ages me! haha
Love the shot with the crows .. the lighting is beautiful!
Ah .. yup .. some of us have made plant orders already .. eeekkk !! haha
Joy : )
It does feel like we are stuck on a teetertotter...half way up, no way down. It will pass, everything does.
We must be patient, and bide our time...right, lol.
Jen
That's a large flock of crows! I imagine it must be quite loud there! It is funny how the wind blows - I have a corner in my back porch, too, and it always makes interesting patterns there - though, usually with leaves, not with snow.
Tammy, I'm actually quite glad to see some snow cover. I was a bit worried about plants that didn't have cover and the lack of water. After a long hot summer we need something to restore the water table.
LOL, you wouldn't believe Jason how many people are into turntables. There's an entire cultish industry around those things. I had no idea until hubby started getting into it but apparently some swear by the sound a turntable produces and they're willing to pay quite a bit of money to get it. We went to one audio store where the starting price for a new one is $500 and they go way way up from there. Jody was like a kid in a candy shop.
I think that is one of the possible reasons for the crows gathering - they are so social and it's a bit of a party when they get together. I just love watching them swoop in, it's a great electric cloud of black. Of course, some who live in that neighbourhood aren't as pleased with the noise and mess.
Definitely a conspiracy. Great big empty deck and yet I can't open my door! Seed orders have now been placed and tree shopping list finalized. But oh my, Canning just released their new catalogue and weren't we just talking about grasses the other day. I am so tempted.
I have been doing so good up till now Jen but being locked indoors and not even able to enjoy the snow is a bit much. Couldn't even snowshoe today as the wind just will not let up. and they say there will be freezing rain to follow. ugh
and that was just the beginning Holley. I was there when the sun just started to go down, more crows arrive by the hundreds as the light fades. I usually see them on the 'crow highway' when I drive home. A steady stream coming into the city. It's an amazing sight.
It seems like the whole northern hemisphere is in the grip of this cold weather, and here in London at least there is no end to it. We have just had snowfall number three in 4 weeks, quite unusual – some winters we have no snow at all. And there is probably more to come. That nice spring feeling we had in early January seems like a distant memory right now – I can’t wait for some real spring weather!
With weather like that how could you not blog about it!! Loved the picture of the snowdrift on your deck, reminded me of the way the sea radically redistributes the sand from day to day, sometimes it too gets all piled up in one small area, leaving lots of bare pebbles elsewhere.
That's too bad Helene, I remember seeing all your bulbs starting to push up through the ground. Hope the plants make it through the bad weather. This winter feels like a roller coaster this year. One minute we're freezing and the next we get rain. It's a bit unnerving.
Hello: We are still here and hubby says we will stay for another two weeks at least..probably until the end of February. I thought that was quite the storm but my in-laws thought it wasn't so bad! Lots of drifting half way up living-room windows..my hubby's brother has a big tractor and snowblower on the back so he does our place all winter as well..but this year took a railing off our front porch! oops..today (Monday) was a marvelous day, Caron and I slogged out through her woods on snowshoes, I took over seventy pictures! At farmhouse we have one room all dry walled, working on the second..I learned rug braiding today, it's always been on my bucket list..Been to Halifax, hope to go back someday, it was the year my son and I did the Cabot trail together..take care Lannie
It is exactly like sand Janet, you hit on this perfectly! The snow even gets those funny lines and designs like the sand does.
I love Cowboy Junkies. Glad you had some good music to listen to....winter weather is rather brutal. Looks like there is another storm going across the country. brrrrr, it is spring like here.
Post a Comment